Fifth international conference on Baltic and Nordic Studies in Romania:A piece of culture, a culture of peace, re-imaging Europe

full name / name of organization:

Valahia University & The Romanian Association for Baltic and Nordic Studies

contact email:

conference@arsbn.ro

Annual conference 2014. Fifth international conference on Baltic and Nordic Studies in Romania: A piece of culture, a culture of peace, re-imaging European communities in the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Black Sea regions

17-19 August 2014, Targoviste, Valahia University, Romania

Conference background, past conferences
The conference continues and develops a project that the Romanian Association for Baltic and Nordic Studies (ARSBN) initiated in 2010, aiming at investigating, comparing and describing the relations, encounters, intersections, confluences, mutual influences and/or parallels between the Nordic and Baltic Sea areas, on the one hand, and the Black Sea region, on the other hand. The project was structured in annual international conferences usually taking place in late May. Thus, the first conference, entitled “Romania and Lithuania in the Interwar International Relations: Bonds, Intersections and Encounters” was held on 19-21 May 2010 and concentrated, as the title suggests, on the present and historical relations between two countries belonging to these two areas. The following editions of the annual ARSBN conference enlarged their scope, being entitled “The Black Sea and The Baltic Sea Regions: Confluences, influences and crosscurrents in the modern and contemporary ages” (20-22 May 2011),“European Networks: the Balkans, Scandinavia and the Baltic World in a Time of Economic and Ideological Crisis” (25-27 May 2012) and respectively “Empire-Building and Region-Building in the Baltic, North and Black Sea Areas” (24-26 May 2013).
During its four editions, the ARSBN conference addressed fundamental problems within the current agenda of the Nordic, Baltic and Black sea states and contributed with fresh ideas and innovative research results to the general knowledge in the scientific field. Moreover, the conference advanced draft proposals useful to the European decision-makers of different fields.
While the participants to the first two editions of the conference concentrated rather on the historical dimension of the relations, the third and fourth editions brought together specialists from various fields (political science, economics, IR, minority studies, cultural studies etc.) and addressed, besides the historical aspect of relations, aspects relevant to the present time, i.e. the current global economic crisis, the Balkan organized crime in Nordic Europe, the minorities in the Baltic Sea area and in the Balkans.
The 2014 conference invites applications from consecrated and young specialists, theorists and practitioners in the most various fields: education, cultural studies, history, IR, political science, economics etc. The 2014 edition of the conference aims at investigating, but also encouraging debate on the role and influence of culture and cultural relations over the preservations of good relations and peace between states and different communities.
Description of the general topic of the Conference
At the beginning of the 21st century, Europe still faces potential conventional and non-conventional threats. Today, conflicts threaten to emerge due to poverty, exclusion, competition for resources, weak institutions, ideological views, perceptions of the other or lack of knowledge about the other. Europe seems under constant (perceived) threats related to terrorism, energy, Russia’s relations with Europe or weapons of mass destructions.
Despite many difficulties and constraints, there is justified hope to move from a culture of (perceived) threat to a culture of peace. While politicians stress that one should be prepared to respond to threats and security challenges, and that society should not make the fatal mistake of minimizing the many (potential) dangers that Europe faces today, scientists, artists, historians, linguists etc. argue that peace can and should be preserved through collaboration with the other, through promoting knowledge about the other, through the study of past experiences, through promoting pieces of the other’s culture.
This conference focuses on intercultural dialogue and forms of cooperation between state and non-state entities, between intra-cultural entities, between different communities. The conference approaches the cultural relations from two perspectives:
- As an integral part of bilateral and multilateral foreign policy, focusing on intercultural relations, policies, past experiences;
- As an integral part of bilateral and multilateral foreign policy focusing on intra-cultural relations.
Cultural relations manifest in interstate relations, in inter-regional relations, in relations between states and non-state entities, in multicultural states. Cultural relations have effect on policies, political thought, communications, choices of states, ethnic groups, religious groups etc.
This conference will bring together non-governmental and governmental actors in the areas of cultural relations, and peace building, ambassadors, scientists, young and consecrated scholars, educators. The conference is a follow-up to the summer school of Nordic and Baltic Studies financed by the EEA Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 within the inter-institutional cooperation programme in the Higher Education area of Romania, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.In this respect, the conference will address themes such as:
- Peace-related studies within Nordic and Baltic cultures
- Women participation in shaping the society in Nordic, Baltic and Black Sea regions
- Nordic and Baltic literature: specificity and universality
- European communities and peace

Selected papers presented at the conference will be published in Revista Româna de Studii Baltice si Nordice / The Romanian Journal for Baltic and Nordic Studies: http://www.arsbn.ro/RRSBN.htm

The Conference Schedule and Deadlines:
Abstracts of individual papers (approx. 300 words): 1 July 2014
Notification of acceptance: 15 July 2014
Publication of the conference programme: 1 August 2014
Conference: 17-19 August 2014
Submission of final conference papers: 15 October 2014
Publication of conference papers is envisaged for December 2014

Submission and evaluation of conference applications
Individual paper proposals must include three items:
- Contact information: the name, email, postal address and academic affiliation of
the applicant
- A 300-word abstract with the title of the paper
- A maximum 500-word bio
Individual proposals featuring more than one author must include the contact information and biographies of all authors and specify whether all co-authors intend to attend the conference
Proposals can also be sent for roundtables and book presentation panels. The same three elements apply.
Submissions shall be sent in pdf, doc or docx files to e-mail:
conference (at) arsbn.ro